Congressional Leadership Fund Collects Corporate Cash

Correction: The original version of this story incorrectly stated that Chevron Corp. made a $2 million donation to CLF. It has been corrected to reflect the actual amount of the donation, $1 million.

Chevron Corp. donated $1 million to a conservative super PAC with ties to Karl Rove’s dark money network in early July, a rare instance of a prominent publicly traded company taking advantage of the post-Citizens United rules on corporate involvement in politics.

It’s not the first time Chevron has made such a donation — in the 2012 cycle, it gave $2.5 million to the same group — nor is it the only large gift from prominent business interests to the super PAC.

The Citizens United decision, handed down by the Supreme Court in 2010, significantly loosened the reins on corporate spending on politics. For the most part, thought, the dramatic increase in outside spending since then has been fueled by money from very wealthy individuals and, to a lesser extent, labor unions. Most corporations — at least those that are publicly traded or have consumer brand names — have stayed on the sidelines.

Shortly before the 2012 election, Chevron made its first donation to the Congressional Leadership Fund. That contribution sparked a minor furor, with a group of four pro-transparency and environmental groups filing a complaint with the FEC complaining that the company violated rules against federal contractors donating money, but the complaint was quickly dismissed. The company also brushed aside attempts by a group of shareholders to force the company to justify the donation. Yesterday’s filing show that on July 1, the company made a new $1 million donation to the same group, Congressional Leadership Fund, which reported raising a total of $3.4 million in the third quarter of this year.

So far this year the super PAC has spent just $504,000 on ads, mounting attacks on three Democrats — particularly Rep. Pete Gallego (D-Texas). But CLF has already paid out close to $2.2 million to a media buying firm for “pre-payment” of ads that have yet to run; that money almost certainly will be spent, it’s just a question of when and where.

Asked for comment on the donation, a Chevron spokesperson emailed OpenSecrets Blog a statement reading: “Chevron regularly supports a host of candidates, ballot measures, pro-business organizations and committees like the Congressional Leadership Fund…We have strict policies and internal approval processes for political contributions to ensure they comply with the letter and spirit of all applicable laws.”

Like many corporations, Chevron has a traditional PAC, which can give money directly to candidates and is funded by donations from employees rather than the corporate treasury. So far this cycle, it has given out $550,000, 90 percent of which has gone to Republicans. It has also spent $5.5 million in the first six months of this year on federal lobbying.

Airlines for America is also highly active in Washington, with a PAC that has given out $168,000 to candidates this cycle (68 percent of which went to Republicans) and a lobbying operation that spent $2.4 million in the first half of the year. Asked what motivated the organization to donate to the super PAC, a spokesperson for the organization responded vaguely, saying: “The airline industry is global and our issues are bipartisan. As such, A4A supports Republicans and Democrats alike who understand well the importance of the airline industry to the economy and jobs in communities across the U.S.”

Additionally, Alliance Resource Partners, a publicly-traded coal mining company, donated $500,000, and Farmers Group, the insurance company, donated $25,000 in the third quarter, after having donated the same amount earlier in the cycle.

But the bulk of the remaining money came from wealthy individuals, including several who have already given large sums to other conservative super PACs. Hedge fund manager Paul Singer, who donated $500,000, and professional wrestling executive Linda McMahon, who gave $350,000.

Russ joined the Center in March 2012 as the money-in-politics reporter. His duties include reporting for OpenSecrets Blog and assisting with press inquiries. Russ has a background in investigative journalism, having worked as a reporter for the Investigative Reporting Workshop at American University, and he spent five years as a newspaper reporter in New Hampshire. He has a degree in political science from Muhlenberg College and a M.A. in journalism and public affairs from American University.

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